The invention relates to the separation of oil and water or other mixes of materials having different specific gravities.
The efficient and cost effective treatment of water contaminated with oil-based materials or other mixes of materials having different specific gravities presents wellknown and long-standing problems. Oil, gasoline, antifreeze and the like naturally separate from water under the effects of gravity and accumulate on the surface of the water where it can easily be removed. This natural separation process is too slow to accommodate the treatment of large volumes of contaminated water unless very large settling tanks or ponds are used. The costs attendant to such large scale settling tanks make them impractical for use in most applications.
Many different systems have been devised to clean water by removing and retaining oil, thereby allowing the relatively clean water to be discharged in an environmentally safe manner. Most oil-water separators attempt to enhance or increase the rate at which oil naturally separates from water and collects on the surface of the water. Many of these oil-water separators are complex, expensive to construct and not well suited for use in varying applications and locations.
In an effort to fill the need for a gravity based oil-water separator that is comparatively inexpensive to construct and operate but still effective in treating relatively large volumes of contaminated water, I developed the techniques described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,234. The ""234 patent describes methods and apparatus for separating an incoming mix of oil and water (or a mix of other materials having different specific gravities) into multiple streams and discharging those streams against a baffle plate to increase the rate at which the lighter oil separates from the heavier water. The present invention was developed in an effort to improve on the techniques described in the ""234 patent.
The present invention is directed to a separator that utilizes an arcuate inlet manifold and an arcuate baffle to increase the rate of separation for a mix of materials having different specific gravities. In one embodiment, the separator includes an arcuate baffle that defines a separation chamber and an arcuate pipe through which a mixture of materials having specific gravities is carried into the chamber. The mixture is discharged into the separation chamber against the baffle through a series of openings disposed along the perimeter of the pipe. The baffle, pipe and openings are configured relative to one another such that mixture is discharged against the baffle at an oblique angle. In preferred versions of this embodiment, mixture is discharged slanting up, slanting to the side or slanting up and to the side against the baffle at an angle of 18xc2x0 to 24xc2x0 (most preferably at about 22xc2x0).
The invention may also be embodied in a method for separating materials having different specific gravities. In one embodiment, the method includes providing a cylindrical chamber, circulating a mixture of materials having different specific gravities around the chamber, removing lighter material from the top of the circulating mixture, and removing heavier material from the bottom of the circulating mixture. In another embodiment, the method includes discharging multiple streams of a mixture of materials having different specific gravities against a vertically oriented cylindrical baffle at an angle of 18xc2x0 to 24xc2x0 above horizontal and at an angle of 18xc2x0 to 24xc2x0 relative to a tangent line for the curve of baffle.
In another embodiment, the invention includes an ultrasonic transducer used in combination with the apparatus described above to treat waste slurries or other mixes containing solids. Exposing the incoming mixture to ultrasonic vibration breaks loose any particles that may have bonded to the oil, for example, in an oil and water mix.
The foregoing summary is not intended to be an inclusive list of all aspects and features of the invention nor should any limitation on the scope of the invention be implied from this summary. The summary is provided in accordance with the requirements of 37 C.F.R. xc2xa7 1.73 and the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) 608.01 (d) merely to apprise the public of the nature of the invention.